


albion's hope

by odinstark



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Babies, Baby Names, Caring Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Cute Kids, F/F, Family Feels, Feel-good, Gay, Good Morgana (Merlin), Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Lancelot (Merlin) Lives, M/M, Magic, Magic Revealed, Merlin is a good dad, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), Uncle Knights, Uncle-Nephew Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-08-10 00:17:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20126221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/odinstark/pseuds/odinstark
Summary: How hard is it to raise a baby, really? Pretty hard is the answer. But with the help of a few knights, the king of camelot, his sister and her girlfriend and one only midly grumpy man, they make it work.





	1. Chapter 1

Merlin didn't mean to come back from the forest with a baby. I mean who does? But he couldn't just leave them there. The child was maybe only about two and extremely small and more importantly, left on its own. Not on purpose though.

There was upturned cart, the horses long gone, their tracks fading into the forest floor. Bodies lingered around the scene, some drenched in blood. Some in a lot worse. He felt ill as he looked around at the condition the women in the group were discarded in. He would have left immediately after that, reported back to Arthur and tell him about bandits latest attack. But then he heard it. 

A faint whimpering from a wicker basket, partially hidden from view by a fallen woman's cloak. Merlin didn't have to guess to know what was in the basket. He shed a few tears as untangled the woman's fingers from the handle, her dying wish to be with the child and even more when he opened the lid and saw a small smattering of red on the child's tanned cheek.

He ripped off his neckerchief and used to soft material to wipe away the still wet blood. He tucked the child more securely in the basket, unhooking the woman's cloak from around her shoulders to use to keep the child warm on the walk back to the castle. He prayed for her spirit and spent a moment rearranging her body into a more respectable position, and plucked some wild flowers from nearby as a token of respect, in which he placed the small bouquet into her clasped hands on her chest.

He placed Gaius' pouch of herbs at the child's feet and began to walk back to Camelot, far faster than he would on a regular day, spurred on not only by empathic grief but also the threat of bandits who could still be in the area.

He met Leon and Elyan as he swooped into Castle gates as the town's bell signaled three o'clock, making sure the baby was discreetly hidden from sight from prying townspeople' eyes.

The two were followed by a smaller group of knights, obviously just coming back from a training session, as they were sweating profusely in the mild day. 

"Hey, Merlin!" Elyan greeted as Merlin came towards them, basket in hand, not noticing the sombre expression on his friend's face.

"Is that blood?" Leon asked in concern, looking at the cracked blood trails on Merlin's hands and the dry patches on his trousers legs,

"What happened? Are you alright?"

Merlin bit his lip before he shakily recounted what he'd seen, the blood, gagging as he told them of the shredded clothes on the women in the group, becoming cold as he explained the absence of any wealth. 

"No one was alive, I checked. Well except..."

They had moved into a corner of the entrance, lest they cause a scene with what Merlin was currently telling them about in a loud whisper.

"Someone was alive after that?" Elyan asked as the basket in Merlin's arms rocked gently and babe inside let out a whimper, a need for attention, their chubby fingers pushing past the fabric that served as a protection from the sun's beams.

"Is that-" Leon mumbled, shocked, as Merlin pushed back the cloak to expose the baby to the two knights, and he watched as his friends already heavy hearts broke before him,

"Good lord...A baby."

"I couldn't leave..." Merlin explained to which his friends gave him looks of understanding and compassion,

"I was going to bring the baby to Gaius first to see if they were well before telling Arthur about the bandits."

"No need for that, I'll tell the King right now," Elyan couldn't quite drag his eyes away from the child's eyes, which observed him him curiously,

"Leon, go ready a group to ride out as soon as possible. I'll join you as quick as I can. Merlin, go to Gaius. We'll be back before night fall."

Merlin nodded and the three departed in different directions, Leon, hurriedly, to the stables and the guardhouse, Elyan to Arthur's Chambers and Merlin, who snuck through alleyways to get to the castle without attracting too much attention. 

Merlin opened the heavy wooden door to Gaius chambers and spotted his guardian leaned over a piece of parchment, writing words hurriedly with a feather quill.

"I've got someone for you to meet Gaius," Merlin tried to butter the older man up for what was to come.

"Let me guess, another man you found in the woods that's destined to be a knight of Camelot?" Gaius scoffed, not looking up as Merlin closed the door softly behind him for once.

"Not quite," he replied mutely as he placed the wicker basket on the work bench and carefully removed the baby from its covers, cradling the small form against his chest.

Gaius knocked over his inkwell in surprise and quickly rose to his feet once he noticed the blood on the baby's clothes and Merlin's alike.

The old man quickly assessed there was nothing wrong with the child, none of the blood was his own. They also confirmed the child was a boy, a little boy around a year and a half old, Gaius estimated. The only ailment the child seemed to suffer from was hunger, as there was a possibility the child hadn't eaten for upwards of six or so hours and so Gaius sent a passing maid for warm milk from the kitchens.

Merlin washed the blood from his hands and forearms before he picked the boy up again, who was now swaddled in the softest shirt Merlin owned. He cradled the child in his arms as he slowly offered the starving baby milk from a small glass bottle Gaius had pored the milk into, as to make sure the child didn't choke on the drink.

He told Gaius the story of how he found the child and by the end of his tale, the old man had shed a few tears more than Merlin had.

"You did a good thing, Merlin. By staying. If you'd just come straight back..." Gaius didn't need to finish his sentence for Merlin to know what he was going to say.

If he hadn't stayed, the baby wouldn't have lived. 

"I wish I had found them sooner. I could have maybe saved some of the adults. Or at least the boy's mother. She was sheltering him from danger...even in death."

Gaius placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, as Merlin tugged the baby even closer to his chest, as if scared he'd blink and the boy would be gone.

"And she would be thankful you're sheltering him now, I'm sure of it, Merlin."

The sun began to slip from the sky as evening drew fast in quickly colding January day. Merlin felt sick at the thought of the baby possibly having to face the freezing tempatures if he had not found him.

Gaius tucked the cloak from the baby's wicker basket into an empty apple crate he used to store aromatic herbs like lavender in, along with a pillow from the bed he used for patients. Merlin was hesitant to lower the snoozing baby into the crate and out of his arms, but when he heard the clack of the returning knights' horses' hooves, he knew he had to meet them in the courtyard to learn what happened.

He raced down the front steps as Arthur dismounted from his horse, along with Elyan, Leon, Percival and two other knights Merlin was sure were called Ghedred and Konnor. As he stuttered to a stop in front of them, Leon swooped forward and wrapped his arms around his neck, letting them both shed a few tears in the cover of them embrace before the Knight pulled back to compose himself.

Seeing what he'd seen had obviously affected the Knight to his very core, so Merlin didn't remove his hand from Leon's shoulder, an offer of comfort. As he glanced past the taller Knight, he saw the other knights weren't in any different a state, just better at hiding it than Leon. 

"Is the baby....?" Leon asked finally, wiping away the stray tear that leaked down his pale cheek.

"He's fine. Perfect health, Gaius says. Healthy appetite too, but I would also have one if I was where he was."

"A boy?" Leon asks with a small smile, and Merlin nods.

"Wow," he says proudly in a daze, like he had fathered the child himself. He shook himself out of his trance as Arthur decided to finally approach the two.

"Come on," Arthur spoke sombrely, looking at Merlin with an unreadable expression,

"We have much to discuss."


	2. Chapter 2

"They were druids," Arthur spoke from the head of the table. For the first time ever, Merlin was permitted to sit at the table, the seats reserved usually for the knights and other members of the court, and he was glad he took advantage of the offer, for he was sure he would have fell over at Arthur's words.

His heart got even heavier and an acidic taste moved slowly up his throat as Arthur continued to describe what he'd found, glad his King had not called upon to speak yet, like he had with the knights. He just listened in pain and disgust as Arthur recalled finding the men with their tongues cut out...The woman tied and gagged. He didn't need his friend to explain why they were. 

"We found some...I'm not even sure what they are. Merlin?" Arthur questioned, breaking Merlin from his thoughts.

"Hmm?" he answered, finally focusing on the blonde rather than his hands, which he mind made bloodied by the minute. Elyan gave his a sympathetic pat on the leg from beside him and so Merlin steeled himself to answer what Arthur was to ask him.

"Do you know what these are?" Arthur pulled various metal cuffs inscribed with ancient runes of the Old Religion and chains with similar symbols.

Merlin's blood ran cold as the king pushed them down the table towards him, and he retracted his hands from the table top to make sure he didn't touch the horrible items.

"They....They're..." Merlin swallowed as everyone looked to him in concern,

"...They restrain the wearer from using magic. Double back whatever they cast...The magic is supposed too...ripple through their body like burning fire...The chains tighten...the more you struggle or use magic...Like you're being sliced into from a hundred different places. It's agony...beyond anything imaginable."

Leon and Percival's faces paled from across the table and Elyan's reassuring hand returned, this time on his shoulder and this time staying there. He only had to glance at Arthur to see the sadness on his face.

"Gaius knows more than I," Arthur nodded at his words.

"Go fetch him for me, would you, Merlin?"

"Yes, sire."

He left the room as quickly as he could while still being respectful. The horrible feeling in his chest persisted as he rushed back to Gaius' chambers. Gaius was humming a tune to himself when he walked in, having moved his letter writing to the table closest to the baby to watch over him.

"The king wants to discuss some...artefacts he found...They were magical restraints Gaius," the dark haired man said as Gaius stood up and wrapped his arms around his son's shoulders, noticing the dark and faraway look on his face.

"Better they are dead then," Gaius tried to comfort but Merlin shook his head against the older man's shoulder where it was buried in.

"They were druids...and whoever attacked them...used them on them."

Gaius left soon after that, and Merlin stood aimlessly in the spot before taken by a sudden urge to do...something. He cleaned Gaius' workspaces. Reorganised books, tidied up his ingredients cupboard, stacked empty jars.

Somewhere during his pottering, the boy woke up and softly gurgled at the sight of the stars in the sky outside the window he was beside. Merlin sat beside the makeshift bed on the counter top before he picked him up. The baby only fussed a little before he settled against Merlin's broad chest as he was gently rocked from side to side.

The door opened softly as it was closed. Merlin looked up to see Leon, devested of all his armour, now dressed in a soft green shirt and trousers. He walked towards the two and sat on the stairs facing Merlin, one knee pulled up to his chest, with a concerned look on his face.

"I'm okay," he answered the silent question and Leon visibly relaxed.

"The woman...We found a woman with flowers in her hands..." Leon asked softly as Merlin returned to nursing the baby in his arms,

"Was that you?"

Merlin nodded, closing his eyes, letting the light of the moon soak into his skin,

"I think she was his mother. She was clinging to the basket I found him in, protecting him. I had to...honour her, I guess."

"It was a good thing to do, Merlin," the warlock looked up at his friend, who had a soft smile on his face,

"I'm sure she would appreciate it."

Merlin numbly nodded his head in agreement before he looked down at the boy in his arms.

"Do you want to hold him?"

"Me?" Leon asked in shock as Merlin grinned at his hesitance, "No, I don't know how. I'm afraid, I'll drop him!"

"It's simple, here," Merlin crossed the short distance to the knight. Leon's arms reflexively curved out and Merlin gently placed him in the blonde's hold, moving his hands to where he should support the boy. Leon's hands cradled the baby's neck and upper thigh with a genuine and pleased smile on his face, as the baby scrunched his nose at him and Merlin laughed.

"See? Not so hard."

Morning came sleepily to fruition. Merlin didn't sleep all night, paranoid that someone would sneak in and take the boy. He had moved the crate into his bed chamber and spent the night reading and frequently watching the baby, relaxing as he spotted his chest moving up and down as usual. 

He warmed more milk for the boy throughout the night, feeding him as gently as he did the first time. He created small smoke creatures to dance around the room at one point, when the boy was unsettled by the sound of a loud horse whinnying from outside his window.

When morning came, he brought the boy down to see Gaius and discuss what Arthur had asked of him. The old man smiled when he saw the baby and even more when the baby grabbed a part of his cloak and refused to let go. Gaius took him off Merlin's arms long enough for him to choke down some breakfast and gather another bottle of milk. Gaius disappeared somewhere in the period Merlin was feeding the boy, to do his rounds, leaving Merlin alone.

Arthur entered the room more quietly than he ever had before, so much so Merlin had thought it was Leon coming back again before he turned around. He immediately held the boy closer in his arms, let Arthur dare try and take the babe from him.

"No," he said to the king.

"Merlin-" Arthur reached a hand forward and Merlin slid away from him, scowling at the blonde.

"You're not taking him, Arthur. I won't let you abandon him somewhere."

"I'm not going to t- Abandon him? Merlin?" Arthur spoke softly, with a hint of hurt in his voice,

"Do you really think I'd do something that low?"

Merlin swallowed thickly, and spoke only with slight bitterness,

"He's a druid child. Last time there was one of those in Camelot, he was hunted by your guard, on order of death."

"Under my father's orders and his spite. And did you forget I helped the boy escape?" Arthur argued and Merlin finally let himself face the king,

"I'm not my father, Merlin."

"I couldn't deal with you, if you were," Merlin jested and Arthur let out a short laugh of thankfulness. He'd finally gotten through to his servant.

"That you couldn't."

Arthur told Merlin of his plan to send out riders to spots they knew the druids frequented with letters about what happened. If they were lucky, the groups would find them before a rain came through and reduced the parchment to pulp. Hopefully the druids would welcome the baby back into their circle. 

As much as Merlin believed the boy had a right to be with his people, he couldn't help but feel selfish, like he never wanted to let him go.

But it was just a matter of time.


	3. Chapter 3

The circle of who knew about the baby was small and the people who came into contact with him even smaller. Merlin, Gaius and Leon were the only ones that regularly picked him up but sometimes Elyan and Arthur would sneak up to the physician's chambers if they had a free moment. Lancelot, Gwaine and Percival certainly knew about the boy too, but they never came to visit. Merlin thought it was better that way, the less people who got attached, the better.

The ache in his chest got worse the longer he thought about the eventuality of having to bring the baby back to the druids. The week stretched on and the likelihood of the druids making contact with the King of Camelot got less and less. But Merlin's rejoice was short lived. On the eighth day, a girl, maybe ten years old, from the lower town ran up to Merlin in the courtyard when he was taking a free moment to do some of the chores he has missed the past week.

The scroll in her hand was yellowed and had a wax seal with the mark of the druids on it. Merlin took it shakily and the girl ran back to join her friends in the square. He considered hiding it, but his logic outweighed his heart. Arthur emerged from the castle doors, ready to do...whatever he'd been doing this week. The dark haired man waved the parchment at him and Arthur paused in his steps. It was time it seemed.

The letter spoke of a time and a meeting place as well as a thanks for the information. Merlin read between the lines enough to know that meant their wards in their camps had been greatly reinforced to stop it happening again, but the man didn't regurgitate that thought to the king. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

They left in the morning, with a few hours ride ahead of them. Merlin rode with the boy's basket in front of him, securely strapped to the saddle. He still held onto it tightly, using one hand to guide his horse instead of two. Every jostle of his horse only served to rock the babe in to a deeper sleep, which was a small mercy.

Leon had barely talked to Arthur all morning, no more than was needed to be respectful and to carry out the duties required of him. Merlin couldn't blame him, he'd barely been able to look the king in the eyes. He'd grown substantially fond of the boy, despite his hesitance at the start.

He'd stayed in Merlin's chambers the previous night, on the warlock's discreet invitation. They spoke in whispers in the dead of the night about everything and anything that wasn't the pilgrimage the next morning. The boy was passed from each of their arms whenever he grew restless looking at the same face for too long.

At one point, on the cusp of utter fatigue, Leon had muttered about running away with the child and becoming woodland men, living off the land. Merlin had given him a sleepy giggle in answer before the two fell asleep, the apple crate crib separating them on the narrow bed.

The further they got on in their journey, Merlin was beating himself up for not being awake enough to take Leon's offer seriously the night before. It seemed the first knight was having similar thoughts as he pulled back to join Merlin in the middle of the brigade, leaving Arthur's side after exchanging frosty conversation.

He didn't say anything, just nodded to basket and the forest with a sad look in his eyes. The party continued in silence, even Gwaine. The long haired man had greeted him that morning with a long hug as he prepared the horses in the stables. He didn't say anything but Merlin understood what he meant by the embrace.

Luck looked fondly upon them that day as not speck of trouble showed it's self on the horizon. Within a few hours of travel, the group made it to meeting spot.

The druids were already there, cloaked in greens and browns. There was an even mix young and old, of men and women but none of them seemed to favour the boy's mother. Merlin hoped that some druid couple would take the baby on as their own, if none of his blood family remained.

"Welcome, Arthur Pendragon. You came earlier than we expected," the grey haired man in the centre of the group spoke as Arthur dismounted from his horse.

"The roads were free of bandits for once, but I assume you already knew that," the druid man took the accusation with a tilt of his head.

Elyan dismounted after the king with a two burlap sacks. He handed one to the nearest druid, a young woman with blonde hair. 

"Those are jewellery, family sigils, anything else of importance or value that we found. I assumed you would like them returned to you," Elyan returned to Arthur's hand, the other bag still tightly gripped in his hand.

"We thank you for your forethought," an older woman answered from beside the druid leader's side.

"What of the other bag?" the grey haired man asked, and Elyan passed it to the king. Arthur reached in a pulled out a pair of the magic restricting cuffs. Like Merlin had at the meeting table a week ago, the knights watched as the druids recoiled away from the metal.

"We found these around the wrists of some of your people. I don't want them in Camelot, I know of the power they hold and they have no place in the city. I bring them to you as I assume you have a way to destroy them?"

A murmur broke out amongst the group of druids as their leader considered his words. He hesitantly gestured for the bag. Arthur tied the neck of the sack up tightly before he passed it over.

"We must use magic to destroy these, your highness, I hope you understand that," The use of his title did not go amiss for Arthur and he took that as a sign of how to continue.

"What I do not see, I cannot punish."

Merlin almost fell out of his saddle at those words, did Arthur truly mean-

"We thank you again. I should think we should get down to why are here. In your letter, you said there was a survivor but did not elaborate. What of them? I see no one else than your knight and...your servant."

The look the druid man send a shiver down Merlin's spine but he knew the man would not reveal his secret. The other druids seemed to realise they were the presence of Emrys and studied him curiously but respectfully and more importantly, subtley.

"Amongst...the bodies, we found a survivor. A child, of the fallen. Hidden under all the blood."

A few of the group, druids presumably with children of their own, gave a shocked gasp and shed a tear or two.

Merlin took that as his cue to get of his stallion. When his feet hit the floor, he swayed in anxiety. A sturdy hand grasped his upper arm, grounding him. Merlin nodded to assure the man he was okay. He didn't even need to turn to know it was Leon but he did anyway as they quickly removed the basket from its bindings.

Merlin gently removed the babe from the wicker and began to walk towards the druids, Leon's comforting hand never leaving his shoulder. The grey haired man raised his eyebrows as he watched Merlin approach with the babe in his eyes. The warlock noticed the glazed look that appeared in the druids eyes, the one that signified they were talking in their minds. 

"A child..." the old woman spoke again, tears rolling down her sun kissed skin, 

"Oh god, we were barely getting by as it is."

"Is something the matter?" Arthur asked in concern as Merlin's gaze landed on a few druids who had conspiracitcal expressions on their faces.

_"Emrys. You must take care of the boy. It is in his destiny as it is your's."_

Merlin nearly jumped in surprise then joy when the rasp of the druid leader's voice invaded his mind. Leon most have noticed him startle and squeezed his shoulder in question.

Merlin didn't answer and tuned back into Arthur's conversation. He soon learned that the druids were low on resources and already had so many children, and children without parents already as it was, that they didn't have the space to care for another, much less a family who could raise him.

Arthur looked thoughtful during the spiel, occasionally glancing at Merlin from the corners of his eyes. He sighed deeply, breathing in the forest air and made his decision,

"I informed you because I believed the boy was better to be raised by his own people. But he is welcomed in Camelot, I'm sure I can find someone to take him in."

Merlin blanked out after that, and he was sure he would have dropped to the floor if he wasn't holding the baby. Everyone in the clearing knew what those words meant, the gravity they held. It was the start, of something new, Merlin thought. 

The warlock blinked and the druids were gone and someone was shaking his arm. 

"Merlin?" Arthur asked in concern, looking up at his servant's pale face,

"Still with us?" 

"Yeah, sorry just..." Merlin looked down at the boy in his arms who was staring curiously at the trees around him and broke into a smile, for the first time today. 

"I don't have to ask if you'll be the one to take care of him then?" the king asked as the other Knights finally moved closer to the small group in the center of the grassy clearing. 

"Come on, let's see the little bugger," Gwaine jested before giving out a yelp of surprise as someone hit him over the head,

"Oi! What was that for!?" 

Elyan frowned at him and held his riding glove threateningly at him again, 

"No swearing around the baby!" 

"Okay, dad..." Gwaine grumbled as Lancelot and Percival stepped closer to see the small boy, who wore a shocked expression at all the new faces. 

"Has he a name?" Lancelot asked and Leon choked out a laugh. 

"A name, ah yes. A name would be good," Merlin smiled nervously as Arthur turned on him. 

"You didn't name him!?" 

"I'm not answering that."

The men saddled back up, and the basket was triple checked for secureness before they set off for Camelot. 

"So really," Percival called from the front of the parade, 

"What are you going to name him?" 

Merlin was silent for a moment, drinking in the sight of the flowery, plant filled cove they were leaving, before he answered. 

"Ainslie."

"A fitting name," Lancelot responds, smiling at his friend. 

"Welcome Ainslie of Camelot!" Arthur called and the knights cheered loudly, whooping in excitement. 

"Shuushhh!!!" Merlin reprimanded, 

"He's sleeping!"


	4. Chapter 4

A week is all Merlin took off of work before he returned to Arthur's side. The king ordered him to take more, make sure Ainslie was settled and that he could cope with being the guardian of a small life. But with Morgana and Gwen gone from the castle, Merlin knew Arthur was a little in the deep end with out their reassuring words and cool heads.

Of course the day Merlin returned to work was the day a fever broke out in a small section of the town. Gaius couldn't bring to sensitive baby to an area of sickness nor could they leave the boy to fend for himself in the empty physician's chambers.

So, as Merlin stacked books and hung clothes back into the wardrobe, Ainslie gurgled to himself, in a makeshift jail of goose feather pillows on Arthur's bed. The king in question was at his desk, with an empty lunch dish at his elbow and a quill in his hand, thinking about how to finish his correspondence.

"When are Gwen and Morgana to return?" Merlin asked, as he added more logs to the fireplace, watching as the orange flames grew taller, licking after his retreating fingers.

"This afternoon," the king replied, finishing inking the last letters of his reply, "Or tomorrow morning at the latest."

"That's good. I've missed them. I hope the border villages benefitted from their tour."

"Speaking of border villages, I was wondering if Ealdor-" Arthur's words were cut abrupt by the sound of horse hooves on the courtyard cobbles outside. He saw dark hair of woman join hands with another in a pink dress and laughed,

"Looks like we haven't be blessed with a few more hours of peace."

Merlin stayed behind to finish the King's rooms while he went to greet his sister and Gwen. Ainslie started to cry as he was polishing the brass fastenings of Arthur's cloak, the one he would wear at the welcome back feast the kitchen was most certainly preparing as he thought. He folded the cloak gently over the back of the King's high-backed chair and lifted the boy from his soft prison.

He shushed the child gently against his shoulder, bouncing him up and down as he slowly paced the room, turning at angle so Ainslie could watch the blurry shapes of people walking in the courtyard below. The door's to Arthur's chambers opened softly behind him and a clear, happy voice rang out.

"Merlin!"

The dark haired man turned, Ainslie still tucked against his chest, and replied in equal enthusiasm, just a deal quieter,

"Gwen! You're back!"

"I've missed-..A baby!?" Gwen questioned in uncertainty, like she didn't quite recognise the bundle of cloth in Merlin's protective hold.

"You've missed a baby?" Merlin joked but coughed in embarrassment as Gwen glared at him.

"_Merlin,_" Gwen said in that specific way, that got him to spill his guts everytime.

"Yeah, okay."

Merlin didn't get very far into his story before Morgana bust into the chamber, Arthur hot on her tail. She turned accusingly at the king, who shrunk under her hardened stare, before she redirected her gaze and Merlin and practically melted when she spotted the baby.

"Before I beat an explanation out of you two, I would like to hold the baby," she spoke before Merlin could even try to greet her to diffuse the tension in the room.

So ten minutes of Morgana and Gwen cuddling and rocking the baby latter, Merlin finally got to start his story again. 

Gwen laughed as Merlin told her about the fiasco of Elyan trying to hold Ainslie for the first time, who was a hundred more times hesitant than Leon was and Morgana looked thoughtful at the mention of the druids refusing to take the child, like she knew more than Merlin was letting on.

At the end of it, if Merlin wasn't sure that all of the Knights and Arthur would fight nail and tooth for the baby, then he was glad Morgana and Gwen were on his side, especially when he saw the murderous expressions on their faces when Arthur took over from him when he got to the explanation of how he found the boy's group. Even if this was the third time going over the story, it only got worse with each telling.

Merlin bit his lip, to stop tears falling again. He seemed to be doing a lot of that recently, crying. Arthur looked away, to give his friend a moment of privacy but Gwen just crossed the room and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, an act of comfort Merlin relished. Morgana side-eyed the two from where she paced the room, bouncing Ainslie in her arms. She looked down at the peaceful baby and spoke in low tones,

"Don't worry, my dear. Aunt Morgana will protect you from everything that tried to hurt you, forever."

"Aunt Morgana?" Merlin managed to choke out as everyone's eyes turned on him, even Arthur's. Gwen stepped away from him, once he looked like he wasn't in danger of crying again.

"Of course," Morgana replied with a lilt to her voice, "This boy is as much a nephew of mine as would a child of Arthur's. You're family, Merlin. To me, at least."

"As I," Gwen quickly followed, as she joined Morgana's side, wrapping a delicate hand around the princess' waist. Morgana turned her dark look back on when she glared at her silent brother.

Arthur quickly startled and slapped a hand onto Merlin's shoulder with a surprising gentleness.

"What they said," Arthur spoke as Morgana and Gwen glared at his cheek. Merlin laughed. Then cried.

A family.

He had a family. 


	5. Chapter 5

Weeks pass quickly by and Merlin's sleep pattern grows more and more irregular but he's never been more happier than before these few months.

Ainslie progressed in leaps and bounds, babbling a long when ever there was a conversation going on. He could grip Arthur's quills, kept in a copper pot on his bedside table, and swing them about like baby rattles.

What Merlin had quickly discovered in the past few days, is that Ainslie had been hiding a particular talent from him. The boy could crawl, extremely well and in complete silence.

After the second or...fifth daring escape, Merlin couldn't trust the mischievous boy to behave when he turned his back on him while he cleaned up Arthur's rooms or do any task really. Gwen had a simple solution.

She called it a baby sling, a piece of soft green, but strong, fabric made into a pouch of Ainslie to sit in, while a thick strap of the same material wrapped around his chest.

Arthur laughed the first time he's seen Merlin in it, but on the occasion, Merlin would return to the King's Chambers to see him walking around reading notes from Court meetings, the boy strapped to his chest.

Morgana and Gwen took care of Ainslie during the busy days, when Gaius was swapped with sick townsfolk and Merlin was busy saving Arthur's ass from threat number six of the week.

They hid away in Morgana's chambers, away from prying eyes of the castle staff and court members. Still not many people knew about Ainslie and Merlin wished to keep it that way, for as long as possible.

Merlin would sneak up the Princess's chambers after his duties were done and find the three spread on the furs by the fireside and watch quietly from the doorframe for a moment, just watching his family. Then Ainslie's eyes would find his and gargle out happy nonsense and point at him, and Gwen would spring up and drag him down to the floor and press a dinner plate into his hand, stealing his grapes as he complained about Arthur beings dumb that day and would inquire how the young boy behaved for his 'aunts' that day.

The whole familial connection has somehow managed to find it's way down to the Knights as Gwaine proudly presented himself to Merlin as the favourite uncle the other day when Ainslie had asked to be held by him first, over the other men. Of course, the boy had drooled all over his shirt for all his happiness, but Gwaine joked that been covered in far worse, and from every Merlin has seen, he was inclined to believe.

On one of these particular playdate with the aunts days, Merlin had a found a spare moment while the knights trained, to take a breath.

"They're doing it again," a voice from his left spoke out, accompanied by the rusting of metal one hears when adjusting a gauntlet.

"What?" Merlin answered as he turned to Leon, raising an eyebrow,

"Their flirt fighting? They've been doing it all week and frankly, I'm tired of it."

The two watched as Arthur and Lancelot danced around the field, throwing heavy looks at each other as each clang of one sword against another created sparks to make up for the metaphorical ones.

The tension in the air was thick and the blades slicing through the air did nothing to cut it.

The two smirked at each other when they thought they had gotten the upper hand, only for their position to falter and the cycle repeated.

Leon laughed as he watched the King swerve around his fellow Knight, with the grace of a teen near his childhood crush,

"It makes me just want to...lock them in a room and leave them there until go at each other, in one way or another."

"Sir Leon!"

Merlin exclaimed in fake disbelief and chuckled at the Knight's uncharacteristically crude joke,

"I'm almost certain that would be treason. And even if it wasn't, Arthur would certainly make it."

"What's a month in the stocks compared to endless weeks of desperate sighs and longing looks? Obliviousy at its finest," Leon jested as Lancelot finally seemed to gain the upper hand for the final time.

"Easy for you to say. I spent most of my first year in Camelot in the stocks, I'm in no mood to go back so soon if at all, thank you very much."

A cheer broke out before Leon could reply, and the two looked over to see Arthur knocked on his back, Lancelot's sword pointed at his chest like a time an eon ago.

_Do you submit, sire? _

Merlin heard the words clear as anything, a stolen memory from days past. A lapse in judgment. Or maybe an offer of something different, in another world, another time, another life.

Arthur accepted Lancelot's hand to pull himself up, and took all Gwaine's ribbing without even pulling a face. Elyan entered the field next, sword swinging at his hip, a look of concentration in his eye, power, burning in his muscles.

"Looks like that's my cue," Leon sauntered towards Elyan, a smile dancing on his lips.

"Obliviousy at its finest," echoed Merlin in a sort of hollow way, as he watched Leon and Elyan move against he each other, a kin to say Lancelot and Arthur had been only a moment ago,

"At its finest. His hypocrisy."

Life was never fair. 


End file.
